WR excited to be part of new and improved offense
Another year, another offensive coordinator, the same Jahan Dotson.
The senior Penn State wide receiver and Nazareth Area High School graduate is just as enthused, if not more, to work within Mike Yurcich’s scheme than he ever was in his previous three seasons in Happy Valley.
“He’s a character,” Dotson said in a Zoom meeting with reporters on Monday. “I love it, though. The first day he stepped in, I loved the energy he brought to the team and everything he was about. It’s been fun working with him, and I honestly just can’t wait to go through the whole season with him and everything and just dive in, just new things that I can learn.
“I talked about ... just learning new things from all the coaches that I’ve been able to have. He is a mastermind, and I just can’t wait to pick his brain apart and learn the new things that he has to offer.”
Without giving too much away, Dotson is a believer in what Yurcich brings.
“One thing that really sticks out is the tempo that we use in practice,” Dotson said. “I’m really looking forward to that. I can’t dive in too much, but that’s one thing that definitely sticks out to me in particular is the tempo that we use, keeping defenses off balance and stuff like that. So that’s been really fun to me. It’s been kind of giving our defense a little trouble, so anything, any little advantage that we can use, it helps in the long run.”
Dotson also is excited to be working with the same quarterback, Sean Clifford, who was benched for one game last season but believes he is better for having gone through the adversity of last season, in which the Nittany Lions followed five straight losses to start the season with four straight wins to close it.
“I kind of grew up more last year,” Clifford said, “and it really taught me a lot of lessons about life in general.”
Dotson sees that every day.
“Sean has looked wonderful every single practice I’ve been with him,” he said. “He has that chip on his shoulder. He doesn’t take that 0-5 thing [lightly] at all, so every single day he comes out to practice, he’s ready to work. And he pushes us to get better. We see him setting the standard of being there early, leaving late and working hard every single day.
“He’s been a tremendous leader throughout the process of this spring ball, and it’s really been fun to go out there with him every day and battle.”
What’s more, Dotson believes the Lions’ roster is equipped to handle the lightning-quick fast pace of this new offense.
“We have a have a tremendous amount of depth,” he said, “and I see those guys make plays every day in practice and I just can’t wait for [everybody] to see those guys make plays on Saturdays.”